Military Affairs Department’s GeM orders cross Rs 1.35 lakh crore: Piyush Goyal

Orders placed by the Military Affairs Department through Government e-Marketplace have crossed Rs 1.35 lakh crore, accounting for nearly 15 per cent of GeM procurement, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said. He added that purchases through the portal exceeded Rs 20 lakh crore over 10 years

New Delhi: Orders placed through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) by the Military Affairs Department have crossed Rs 1.35 lakh crore, and defence accounts for nearly 15 per cent of the total procurement on the platform, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.

Addressing an event to celebrate the 10 years of the public procurement portal Government e-Marketplace (GeM), the minister said goods and services procured by central and state government departments and agencies have crossed Rs 5 lakh crore annually.

---

“The orders through GeM of the Department of Military Affairs have crossed Rs 1.35 lakh crore, and today defence accounts for nearly 15 per cent of all the procurement being carried out on GeM,” Goyal said.

He added that the platform is under revamp now and the project is being carried out by IT major TCS. Goyal said that in the last 10 years, goods and services worth over Rs 20 lakh crore have been bought through the portal.

Citing a study by IIT Delhi, the minister said the platform has led to a saving of an estimated Rs 86,571 crore in three years. Another study has shown that prices of 101 items on the portal are about 74 per cent cheaper than those of commercial retail e-commerce firms.